the American taxpayer is going to pay for this.

if we can agree on what the problem is, if we can really define it properly, I think it is going to be a whole lot easier finding common ground on a bipartisan solution.

Congress did pass what I thought was a pretty good law, the health savings account (HSA) law.

The truth of the matter is we either spend money on CSRs to stabilize the market or we will spend money on the increased premiums the insurance companies will charge.

Americans pay for 100 percent of this.

I think there are a lot of other charts we need to look at if we are really going to get our arms around this issue.

For every $1 that is paid into Medicare through the payroll tax, beneficiaries get $3 in benefits.

Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare represent $87 billion out of a total outlay of about $328 billion.

We are going to be paying out $18 trillion more in benefits to Social Security than we bring in through the payroll tax.

Doing away with the individual mandate... all we are saying is you get to choose that other people pay for your health care.

It is inexcusable that we are tagging them with this kind of increase in premium when it is all avoidable.

I just finished 25 town halls in my State, and I can tell you people are very worried.

Consumers really need to know what things cost.

Today only 11 cents of every health care dollar is paid for directly by the patient; 89 percent is either paid by government or insurance, the third-party payer.

Our accumulated deficits will exceed at least $100 trillion.

The forgotten men and women I have spoken an awful lot about, the people that Bill Clinton talked about that are busting it, working 60 hours a week, they have seen the premiums doubled, tripled in some places.

I always look at this as one of the root causes of our problems is we have separated the consumer of the product from the direct payment of the product.

I think our focus as we move forward has to be on gross premiums.

If I cannot figure out what a knee replacement actually costs as a sitting U.S. Senator, what shot does the American consumer have?

We finally had to write some letters, threaten to make those things public before I got this information.

We are currently $20 trillion in debt.

This hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will come to order.

I want to congratulate you on your selection by the President and thank you for your willingness to serve this Nation.

Senator Graham says after that call, he will vote yes on the so-called 'skinny repeal.'

we are in a challenging environment right now with an administration that, while we agree with much of what he says, in terms of trade philosophy, I think most of us would disagree with some of the tactics.